I really shopped around when looking at crock pots because they are expensive. I had heard mixed reviews all around about the cooking temps on some of these being too high or too low or some models automatically shutting off before they are done cooking or even in some cases the electronics lock up to the point of having to unplug and leave unplugged for an hour...this doesn't do any of that. We've used it about 15 times since we bought it (often several times a week) and love throwing a whole meal in there in the morning and coming home after work to a prepared meal. This is truly a fix it and forget it crock pot! I will leave 2 comments that reference some other bad reviews on here:
1. This thing stinks - Yes, the first time you use it, it does have a weird plastic type smell that even smells in the air as you cook. This smell will go away literally after the first use. Washing it first won't help. It didn't affect the taste of the food in the least.
2. The warm feature is too hot - It is a slow cooker, so when it switches to warm, it doesn't immediately turn off like your oven. The automatic feature of it switching to warm once the timer is done is really cool. It will keep the food HOT, but not boiling. I've left it on warm for about 1-2 hours before because I wasn't ready to eat and it kept it at serving temperature, not cooking temperature. Our old crockpot would let it get too tepid to be considered a "warm" setting.
